


Catching Fire

by ChrisCrossed, Obstinate Nocturna (ChrisCrossed)



Category: Sky High (2005)
Genre: F/M, Multi, as well as a rewrite, technically a repost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25178530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrisCrossed/pseuds/ChrisCrossed, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrisCrossed/pseuds/Obstinate%20Nocturna
Summary: Reposted from ff.net and rewritten. A new transfer student arrives at Sky High, and everyone finds out that events from freshman homecoming might go deeper than everyone ever thought.
Relationships: Ethan (Sky High)/Original Character, Magenta/Zach (Sky High), Warren Peace/Original Female Character(s), Will Stronghold/Layla Williams
Kudos: 11





	1. Unexpectations

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here's a fandom I haven't touched in an age and a half! If this fic seems familiar to anyone, you may have stumbled across it before on ff net, under the username SpontaneousCombustion (that's me, btw). I've decided to... revamp most of my old fics, in major ways, including name changes to things I found more appropriate and entire plot changes. The original Catching Fire in all its glory will still be up on my original account on fanfiction, as will what's posted of the sequel, but they'll both be posted in rewritten glory here (and finished, with any luck on Familial Affair's part).
> 
> With that said, on with the show!

It wasn’t often that Sky High received upperclassmen transfers into their student body. Oh, there was the occasional foreign exchange student from one of the smaller, abroad schools in Europe or across Asia, but a completely new student? _That_ was _quite_ out of the ordinary. It wasn’t often these days that teenagers spontaneously manifested super powers, and the rate of radioactive animal bites had dropped dramatically since the old days. 

But, as a favor to an old friend, Diana Powers had made an exception -- and done QUITE a bit of paperwork -- which had led her to this moment in time. Sitting in her office, signing the last of quite a few forms that were necessary for this… particular transfer student. She’d had to redo this last one three times to make sure she put down the more mundane name for Sky High’s “public” face down.

“I owe you for this, Diana.”

“You do indeed, Kenneth,” she said, glancing up from her paperwork at the man sitting across from her. Kenneth Hale, like most heroes, had just about hit the genetic lottery. The man was firmly muscled, from shoulders to calves, and had a face that even under a mask garnered quite a lot of attention from admirers.

Not that any had ever really had a chance with this particular hero, “It’s not easy filling out paperwork for a transfer from a mundane high school, much less one two months into the semester. I just can’t believe you kept her in there so long,” she said, eyes drifting to look out one of the windows framing her door.

“It seemed… the wisest decision, all things considered,” Kenneth said, grimacing as he followed her gaze over his shoulder, and past the large, bright red wings settled somewhat uncomfortably over the back of the chair he sat in. In the reception area sat a teenage girl, leg jiggling out of boredom or anxiety, Diana couldn’t say. Blonde hair obscured her face where it fell down around her ears thanks to her bowed head, and her fingers were tapping against either armest of her chair. It stood out nearly white against the dark fabric of the long black coat that covered most of her body. The top half was buttoned shut and effectively hid whatever shirt she was wearing.

“You know Sky High doesn’t tolerate that kind of discrimination here, Kenneth,” Diana said firmly.

Kenneth looked back at her, “I know it doesn’t officially, Diana, but you know that’s never stopped anyone,” he defended, feathers ruffling and settling again as he sighed, “But I don’t want Ashlyn feeling like she has to hide part of herself anymore.”

Diana nodded, “I understand. I can’t guarantee everything will be kept quiet, but I promise I’ll do my best with her, just like any other student.”

“I know you will, Diana,” Kenneth smiled, standing up, “I have to get going, thank you again for this,” He said, offering a hand out for her to shake. Diana took it, the grip warm and firm as she shook it.

“Of course. Day jobs get the best of us all,” she chuckled. He laughed, nodding, and headed out. Diana watched through the door as the girl on the bench looked up at him, standing abruptly. Kenneth murmured something that she couldn’t quite catch, and hugged his daughter tightly before disappearing out the office door.

“Miss Hale?” She called, and gestured with two fingers to the girl to come in as her father left, “Come a seat.”

-

Principal Powers held the door open for Ash as she walked into the office, sitting down in the still-warm chair her father had occupied a minute before, “Now, your father already handled most of this, so we only have a few basic things to go over. I promise I’ll make it as painless as possible,” the woman smiled at her, and Ash couldn’t help a small one back, “Now, from the looks of it, you completed all of your freshman year credits online, and everything looks good there, so you’re all set to start in with the rest of the sophomore class.”

“Yeah, dad was pretty insistent on that,” Ash said. Even the Phys. Ed credits -- which had meant doing a _lot_ of practice in the training courses in her dad’s sanctum -- and she was _not_ calling it ‘The Nest,’ she didn’t care how appropriately bird punny it was. Besides, it was underground, so not very nest-like in her opinion -- under his watchful eye. She’s not sure if she would’ve preferred an ACTUAL gym class to her dad’s lessons.

Principal Powers nodded, “Now, your father has already informed me about your powers,” Ash tensed slightly, “And you’ve been registered as a pyrokinetic in the school’s systems, so you won’t need to do the formal evaluation this late in the year.”

“Evaluation?” Ash asked, a little nervous. She didn’t remember reading anything about THAT in the welcome packet.

“Ah, you probably know it as ‘Power Placement,’” Principal Powers explained, “Until the… incident last year, it was used to place students into the ‘hero’ or ‘hero support’ tracks. Now it’s used merely to help figure out what classes will help a student best learn to harness and utilize their powers to their full potential, without labels.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I read something about that in the orientation packet…” Ash nodded, thinking back to the thick sheaf of papers she and her dad had to go over and sign. She’d felt like her hand was going to fall off in protest by the end of it.

Principal Powers nodded, “Yes, we haven’t quite had a chance to fully update those yet,” she explained somewhat apologetically, “Now, there are a few things I need to go over with you -- rules and the like -- and then we’ll head down to the counselor’s office to get your schedule put together, and with any luck, we’ll have you in class before lunch.”

-

William Stronghold was a very, _very_ bored sophomore. Even with Layla having tested ahead in most of her core curriculum -- after he _begged_ her to because despite Sky High abolishing the Hero/Hero Support tracks, Layla still didn’t see the need to conform to social trends and get into what should have been a ‘hero’ class -- it was still high school. And _despite_ the fact that he - and his friends - had saved the entire teaching staff and student body from Gwen - Sue - _Royal Pain_ , there wasn’t any amount of admiration or pride that could make high school _not_ suck. 

It didn’t help that Mad Science was still his worst subject without the technopathic TA there to help him -- Will shook his head. He _had_ to stop thinking about that. It still wigged him out to think about the how and why’s of Royal Pain befriending and helping him with his homework. And it certainly didn’t help him concentrate when Medulla was trying to teach. 

Not that he was the only one having attention problems -- a glance across the room showed him that Warren was distractedly charring the edge of his notebook while he stared blankly at the chalkboard behind Medulla’s head. Will was about to nudge Layla and ask her to bring Warren back down to reality with help from the blooming plants outside the window, when a blessed distraction came in the form of Principal Powers opening the classroom door…

 _With a student Will didn’t recognize behind her_. He wasn’t the only one to sit up and take notice, either -- given Sky High’s… rather exclusive acceptance policy, the class sizes were rather small. A new student, in sophomore year? Was bound to garner some attention. Not that the girl who came in with Principal Powers would have had any trouble with that even without being a new student -- there weren’t many people Will knew of that went around day to day in a nearly floor length trench coat. Especially when it was only JUST starting to cool down enough to start wearing jeans comfortably outdoors.

“I apologize for interrupting your class, Doctor Medulla, but we have a new student joining us at Sky High, and this period has your only open seat,” Principal Powers says, handing over a packet of papers to Medulla, who flipped through them.

“Very well then,” He said, looking up from the papers and around the room, “Given that I do only have the one seat available in this period… Mister Peace!” Warren’s head shot up, “I suppose you’ll have a lab partner this semester after all. Miss Hale,” he gestured toward the table Warren was seated at, “If you would. And see me after class so I can get you the proper coursework.” 

Principal Powers patted the girl’s shoulder before exiting the classroom, and the rest of the class tried not to stare as the new girl took her seat next to Warren. If she had any thoughts on his crisped notebook, she certainly didn’t show them. 

“Now, as I was saying…” Medulla said, once the class door had shut, and Will didn’t have much of a chance to do anything but get back to his frantic note-taking.

Twenty-two minutes later, the bell rang, and the class as a whole heaved a sigh of relief as they packed up their things to leave, “There will be a test next Tuesday!” Medulla called as those up front fled the classroom as quickly as they could without looking like they were actually running for it. The sighs of relief turned into groans, and Will headed out of the classroom with the rest of them.

“Lunch, my favorite subject,” he joked as he and Layla reached their lockers. When no response was forthcoming, about applying himself to his work more, he looked over at his girlfriend, “Layla?” 

Layla was looking not into her locker, or at Will, but contemplatively back toward the Mad Science labs, “Hm? Oh… gimme just a sec, Will,” she said, reaching into her locker and pulling her eco-friendly, recycled notebook back out, and running back toward the lab. Will followed, curious, and saw Layla reach the door just as the new girl was walking out of it, “Hi,” Layla said.

She took a step back, obviously not having expected to run into anyone - almost literally. She blinked, bringing her feet back together to stand in the doorway, looking at Layla in confusion, “Oh, uh, hi?”

“I heard Medulla talking about giving you old classwork, so I thought you might like to borrow these,” Layla said, offering the notebook out, “It’s my notes from the past couple months.”

“Oh -- wow, really?” She asked, surprised, “Um, thanks -- it’s not that much, I did most of this stuff online but… Medulla apparently doesn’t post all his extra work up there.”

“I figured,” Layla smiled, “I’m Layla.”

“Ashlyn,” the girl introduced herself, then glanced at Will. Layla turned to see what she was looking at, and gave him a fond, if somewhat exasperated smile. 

“I told you I’d only be a second, Will,” Layla said.

“Will? Will _Stronghold_?” Ashlyn caught herself, and winced, “Sorry, you must be sick of getting that.”

“Eh, usually it’s ‘the Commander and Jetstream’s son,’” Will said, grinning good naturedly, “But yeah, that’s me. You’ve got lunch right now, right? You should come sit with us. You’ll know three people.”

“Three?” Ashlyn tilted her head quizzically.

“The guy Medulla partnered you up with, Warren? He’s a friend of ours too,” Layla said.

“And it’s better than sitting alone and being awkward,” Will said.

Layla hit his shoulder gently, “ _Will_.”

Ashlyn, however, laughed, “It’s fine. And, sure. Not like anyone else has asked. At least you two came and talked to me. Everyone else kind of just stared.”

“We don’t get a lot of transfer students at Sky High,” Will said, leading the way toward the lunchroom.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Ashlyn murmured.

“So, where did you go before this?” Will asked, “One of the other hero schools? You don’t have an accent or anything.”

Ashlyn flushed slightly, “Oh, well, uh --”

“Will! Layla! Over here!” Ashlyn’s answer was cut off as a voice shouted across the lunchroom at them. Will looked up to see Zach standing up at a table, waving at them.

“Come on, we’ll introduce you to everyone,” Layla assured Ashlyn at her nervous look, weaving between the tables and taking an empty seat next to Magenta.

“There really is a new girl,” Maj sounded shocked that the rumor mill had, for once, been accurate. 

“This is Ashlyn. She just transferred in from -- oh, you never actually got to tell us,” Layla said, looking at Ashlyn. 

“No one _just_ transfers into Sky High,” Ethan said, pushing his glasses up his nose slightly.

A presence loomed behind Will, and given the amount of heat it was putting off, he could guess who it was, “And yet, here she stands, popsicle,” Warren told Ethan wryly, then glanced down at Will, “Thought you were done adopting strays.”

“Layla’s fault this time,” Will held his hands up.

Ashlyn looked… mildly annoyed to be talked about like a pet someone picked up off the street, but Layla looked more irritated, “Warren, be nice.”

“Not in my skill set. Just fire and snark,” he shot back, and Will had known him long enough now to know he was teasing. Layla rolled her eyes at him.

“Right, well, guys -- and Maj --” Will added hastily as Magenta and Layla gave him The Look, “This is Ashlyn. Ashlyn, you already met Warren, sorta,” Will gestured to Warren, who had taken a seat by now, “This is Ethan, Zach, and Magenta.”

“Hi,” Ashlyn said, and Will vaguely wondered if it was the “first day” awkwardness that made her this nervous, or just the… eccentric nature of his friend group. 

“So what’s your power?” Zach asked eagerly, followed by, “Ow! What?” Will could only assume that Magenta had kicked him under the table.

“It’s fine,” Ashlyn said, “I’m a pyrokinetic.”

“Oh great another one,” Magenta joked.

Will watched as Ashlyn glanced over at Warren -- the obvious candidate, even if you didn’t know who Warren’s parents were, given he had spent most of Mad Science turning his notes into charcoal, “Just ignore them, I do,” Warren advised her, shrugging his jacket off over the back of his chair as he opened his lunch sack.

“He’s lying, he really loves us,” Will stage whispered, leaning toward Ashlyn’s shoulder -- and conveniently away from Warren’s reach. Ashlyn snorted, slightly, and finally seemed to really relax as she, Layla, and Will finally sat down to eat. The rest of lunch, the conversation steered away from Ashlyn, which she certainly didn't seem to mind, to more mundane topics - or as mundane as they could get in Sky High. Medulla didn’t seem to be taking it any easier on the former sidekicks who’d chosen to take remedial classes than he was on the last class of heroes, and how gym was finally going to get back to normal now that the latest batch of ‘shatterproof’ windows Boomer had broken had been replaced. 

-

Her first day at Sky High ended without too much more homework, much to Ash’s relief, but her backpack was still weighing her down with the sheer amount of course descriptions and supply lists and other, similar packets that each teacher had piled onto her. Getting home late because she’d had to stay after the final bell to try to catch the teachers who would be teaching the first few classes on her schedule that she had missed that day certainly didn’t make it feel any lighter, either. By the time she retraced her steps, back to her front door, she was more than happy to flout house rules and drop her backpack with a heavy ‘thud’ just inside it.

The sound of the television in the living room droned on in indescipherable words from where Ash was standing -- but it meant she wasn’t the first one back to the house, “I’m home!”

“Welcome back,” came the bored reply from the three seater sofa in the living room as the TV cut out, likely muted.

Ash rolled her eyes, walking over and leaning over the back, revealing the actual speaker to be the girl sprawled over the sofa in question, “Hi Kari,” she greeted wryly, reaching down to muss her sister’s hair, the same shade of nearly-white blonde that her own was, though much shorter. Where Ash’s hung loose almost to her waist, Kari’s was cropped in a short pixie cut all over, “You’re going to get dirt on the couch again,” Ash observed, noting the dirt and grass stains all over her younger sister’s clothing, and even her elbows.

Kari batted her hand away, cool to the touch as usual - Ash spotted another green smudge on the heel of her hand, “How was super school?”

“Surprisingly un-super-y, all things considered. Unless they consider carrying your bodyweight in paperwork some kind of advanced training. So not all that much different from starting school any other year. Shoes off the couch, were you raised in a barn?”

“I mean, you did try to abandon me at grandma’s that one time,” Kari sat up, allowing her older sister room to sit, “And that’s disappointing.”

“Sorry to shatter your illusions of grandeur. And I was _four,_ cut me a little slack,” she scoffed, “Are you watching the news?” She asked, finally looking over at the muted TV.

“Yeah,” Kari said, “They’re talking about dad.”

“Good things?”

“Depends on who you ask. The Four Aces don’t think so.”

“Well, he was busy after he dropped me off,” Ash commented, then looked down as something rubbed against her ankles. She bent slightly, scooping up the pudgy, gray cat that had been winding around her legs, “Hi Blue,” she cooed, setting him into her lap to pet him. As the cat purred and butted his head against her hand, Ash glanced at her sister, “You should get changed before dad comes home and sees your clothes.”

Kari didn’t get a chance to answer before the front door opened again and she sunk down slightly in her seat on the couch as Kenneth Hale walked inside, ducking just slightly under the doorframe to get through it. He reached up to loosen the tie around his neck, gaze unfocused and distant as he strode past the living room and up the stairs. Ash and Kari both watched him go, looking at each other and laughing as they heard a door open, then shut again.

“If you move fast, you can probably get those in the washing machine before he’s back downstairs,” Ash said, and Kari nodded, still chuckling as she hopped up and headed upstairs to change before their father made the return trip downstairs. Ash repositioned herself on the newly freed up couch - after brushing some dirt off the cushions - and letting a put out Blue settle down on her stomach to resume his groom-and-purr session. She watched the news replay the end of the Four Aces’ trial, laughing quietly to herself at the irony of the gang being taken down by the same man twice in just as many weeks. Not, of course, that they knew that; they only knew the two different personas of her father as separate entities. The Phoenix, a hero that the news called ‘borderline vigilante,’ but who handled the messes that gangs like the Aces caused on the streets; and Kenneth Hale, the prosecutor who made sure they stayed _off_ those streets for as long as possible. 

This was, in fact, the third time he’d put them away, much to both his daughters’ and the gang’s chagrin. 

Kari returned downstairs, ducking into the laundry room and tossing her dirty clothes into the washing machine and taking the armchair next to the couch. Not a few minutes later, much heavier footsteps descended the stairs, “Much better,” he sighed, no longer in the stiff, gray suit but a loose black tank top and sweatpants, “I was starting to get cramped in that thing.” The bright red wings sprouting from his shoulders flared to not quite their full breadth for emphasis.

Not having to hide their hero… quirks quite so strenuously, Ash supposed, was one of the perks of having a property big enough to have their house FAR back on the lot, and a _very_ well tended front garden full of thick, conveniently leafy foliage. No peering, nosy neighbors to peek in through the windows and catch things like that. 

“You made the news again, dad,” Kari gestured toward the TV. 

Their father, all six foot three of him, turned toward the television set with a frown. It was probably a good thing that kind of intimidation didn’t work on inanimate objects like it did on lying witnesses in the courtroom, or they’d need a new TV, “You two don’t need to be watching this,” he shook his head, reaching for the remote to change the channel. 

“Why? What’s wrong with wanting to see you win?” Ash asked.

Kenneth gave his oldest daughter a fond smile -- until he caught sight of her clothes, “Lynnie,” he started, using the pet name that Ash only allowed because he was her father, “Are you still wearing that thing?”

“Yes,” she was a bit put out by the criticism as she stood up, “I only just got home. I haven’t had much chance to take it off,” Ash unbuttoned her coat, tossing it to the side over the couch. The action revealed the light blue tank top she’d been wearing beneath it all day, and the metal harness fastened around her torso and back.

The metal harness pinning down smoke-gray wings to her back. There were, after all, other ways to hide ‘quirks’ besides the lilac bush.

“You didn’t have time to pick up your backpack either, I saw,” Kenneth commented.

“Hey, that thing’s _heavy_. I think I’m carrying like a tree and a half worth of paper in there.”

“Why’d you even wear it at all?” Kari asked as Ash worked on unbuckling the straps wrapped around her sides, “It’s a school for _superheroes_.”

“Most heroes don’t have two powers,” Ash reminded her sister, not looking up, “They’re weird, and I don’t want to deal with having to explain it.”

Not looking up also meant she didn’t have to see the look on her father’s face when she said that. She was sure it was the same look of concern and caring and hurt that he always got when her wings got brought up. Like in the principal’s office that morning. She popped the last fastener and shrugged the harness off, letting her wings flare out behind her with a groan. When they’d settled against her back again, she walked around the couch, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over a shoulder and then snatching her coat off the couch before heading toward the staircase.

“Oh, hey, you had mail!” Kari called after her, “I tossed it on your bed!”

“Couldn’t have told me that when I got inside?” Ash muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs, shaking her head. Opening her door took a little finagling, with her coat and backpack taking up one hand - keeping it on her back was no easy feat with her wings - and the brace in the other, but eventually it swung open. Like Kari said, there was a single envelope sitting in the middle of her bed, “Tossed my ass,” she sighed, making a note to petition her dad for a lock for her door _again_ , since clearly SPARROW - the house’s AI - wasn’t doing a great job of reminding Kari to stay out of her room. Ash dumped the items in her arms at the end of the bed, and picked up the letter. Her eyes immediately flicked up to the top corner, reading the return address:

 _Sky Penitentiary_.

The mattress bounced beneath her as she threw herself onto it, sliding a finger under the sealed flap to rip it open, and pull out the letter inside.

_‘Ashlyn,_

_If I timed this right and the mail is delivered out on schedule (yeah, who am I kidding), you should get this on your first day of your sophomore year at Sky High. I’m so proud of you, sweetie. I know this wasn't an easy decision for you. I hope your day went well and that you made some friends. I miss you and Kari and your dad so much. If he doesn’t mind, see if you can set up another visit soon, okay? I send all three of you lots of love. Hope I see you soon._

_Hugs and kisses, sweetie. I love you._

_Mom’_

Ash’s chest ached as she reread the letter again, and again, eyes following the swooping curves of her mother’s handwriting that she’d never quite managed to master the art of in her own chicken scratch. She looked over at the calendar on her wall -- she knew the last visit was over a month ago, circled in bright, red pen so she - and anyone else - couldn’t forget it, “Sparrow, when’s the next open visitor’s slot at Sky Pen?”


	2. Chapter 2

Karina Hale was not sure her sister slept. 

Oh, sure, she knew Ashlyn went to her room when their dad told them to ‘pack it up, it was a school night,’ but she was PRETTY sure that Ash stayed on her phone or read or did SOMETHING for hours on end in there instead of sleep -- she knows she’s heard her sister puttering around past when she herself had fallen asleep. Not that she’d ever tell, Sibling Code and all, and Ash had just as much dirt on Kari as Kari had on her.

And yet, somehow, Ashlyn Hale was a morning person. Ashlyn was as much a morning person as Kari _wasn’t_ , which was saying something. So, it wasn’t exactly a surprise when she finally managed to drag herself downstairs at the ungodly hour of six thirty in the A.M., there was her older sister, fully dressed at the table, eating cereal and poring over a notebook, “Good god woman, when do you get _up_?” Kari grouched, going to the pantry to see if anything looked particularly appetizing for the Most Important Meal of the Day TM.

“Forty five minutes before you do,” Ashlyn replied with a little too much pep for Kari’s liking, “I’m taking the bus today, so that way I don’t have to worry about fighting the harness when I get there.”

Explained why her coat was already on and buttoned up. Not that Kari was complaining; the things her father and sister had to wear to look ‘normal’ on a day to day basis looked like a medieval torture device to Kari. The less she had to see it on one of them? The better. Not that the knowledge that it was there was much better, or why her sister insisted on wearing it, “I mean… do you really have to wear it at all?” Kari broached.

Ashlyn, predictably, gave her sister an unamused look, “Kari, it’s too early to start this again,” she said, standing abruptly enough to skid her chair noisily against the kitchen floor and startle Blue off his perch on top of the fridge. Ash looked, at least, mildly guilty about that, “I gotta get going if I don’t want to miss the bus, toss my bowl in the dishwasher for me?” she asked, not waiting for an answer as she grabbed the notebook she’d been reading from off the table and shoving it in her backpack as she ran out the door, ruffling Kari’s hair as she passed by.

Subtle, her sister was not. And just for that, she was going to leave the bowl in the sink. Ashlyn could wash it when she got home.

-

“I have regrets about my choices,” Ash muttered to herself as she made the block long trek to the bus stop. She’d double checked this morning to make sure it would be the correct one -- there was only one bus to Sky High that stopped in her area, and if she wasn’t at the right stop, she’d miss it entirely.

Luck was, apparently, on her side that morning, as she managed to get to the stop just as the bus pulled to a halt by the curb, jogging the last few feet to climb on board. She flashed her student ID at the driver, who nodded her back, and readjusted her backpack onto her shoulder when she heard, “Ashlyn!” called from near the middle of the bus.

It didn’t take long to locate who’d called her; Layla’s hair stood out some against the gray interior of the school bus. Not to mention, she was waving. Ashlyn walked back, sitting in the seat across the aisle, seeing as the spot next to Layla was occupied by Will, “Morning,” she greeted, stifling a yawn, “Oh, here Layla,” Ash handed the other girl’s notebook back to her, “Thank you so much. Those notes were a massive help for the homework Medulla assigned me last night.”

“Not a problem,” Layla assured her, “I have to lend Will my notes all the time, I’m used to it.”

“Layla, c’mon…” Will not quite whined at her. Layla kissed his cheek and he shut up, smiling a bit doofily. 

“I sympathize about the homework,” a voice said from the seat behind Will and Layla. Ash turned to see Magenta sitting there, “Medulla’s remedial classes are killer. I don’t think we’ve had a single night without an assignment or two from him.”

“Remedial?” Ash asked.

“Me, Magenta, and Zach were originally sorted into Hero Support,” Ethan explained, leaning over the top of Ash’s seat to explain. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as they slipped slightly, “And even though Sky High has now integrated the tracks, everyone’s still a little behind -- or a lot behind, in the upperclassmen’s cases.”

“Me and Zach are still in Mad Science one, remedial, so we’ll hopefully catch up by the end of the semester,” Magenta explained, “Ethan and Layla were smart, they took the summer course, so now they’re caught up with Will and Warren.”

“I’m just in a different class period, unfortunately,” Ethan nodded.

“Hey, how’d you manage to get into MS two?” Zach asked.

“I took it online,” Ash shrugged, “And why would Layla need to catch up?”

“I was a sidekick my first semester,” Layla explained, “Will was, too, for a couple weeks.”

“Okay, not to be rude, but… how?” Ash asked, looking between the two of them.

“Stronghold was a late bloomer and didn’t get his powers until after school started, and Hippie’s a pacifist and wouldn’t put on a show for Boomer. He got pissy and auto-sidekick’d her,” a voice said from just in front of the seat. Ash looked up to see Warren had gotten on the bus at the last stop, and was now standing in the aisle, “You mind?” He gestured to the seat next to her, and Ash removed her bag from the seat, which allowed him to sit, and he looked over at Will, “Ready for gym?”

Will, in response, groaned and hit the back of his head against his seat.

Ash sighed, “Okay, I’m going to regret this, but _why_ is the kid with _super strength_ groaning about _gym class_?”

“Three words,” Magenta said, leaning over the back of the seat, “Save. The. Citizen.”

“My dad’s mentioned that before… what’s so bad about it?” She asked, frowning. Her father had nothing but fond, if somewhat odd, stories to tell her about the apparently still going activity.

“You’ll see,” Magenta grinned.

“Maj, c’mon,” Will gave her a look. 

Zach leaned up as well, grinning, “Man, Boomer’s gonna kill you two today. He hasn’t had a chance since he blew the windows out.”

“Shut it, Glowstick.” Warren said, sounding much less amused at the mention of the coach’s name.

Layla cleared her throat, garnering everyone’s attention, “Guys, we’re approaching takeoff.”

The reaction to that was immediate, as Magenta and Zach audibly sat back down in their seats, and Ash watched curiously as everyone she _could_ see sat back and up straighter, “What --” 

A hand came down on her shoulder, pushing her back against the seat, “Just sit back and hold on,” Warren told her, smirking.

Ash’s eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out just _what_ was going on, and just how wary she should be of that smirk, “Hold onto --” She didn’t manage to get through her question before restraints shot out of the backs of the seat, crossing over her, and everyone else’s, chests, holding them tightly but comfortably to the backs, “What? Oh.”

She was sure of it now -- she did NOT like the way Warren had been smirking.

-

“You know, you took that surprisingly well,” Will clapped a hand on Ash’s shoulder as they approached Sky High’s front lawn from the bus dropoff. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure all of us were screaming our heads off in fear the first time,” Magenta said, “Not laughing two seconds into freefall.”

“I love flying,” Ash explained, grinning, then quickly added, “Besides, it wasn’t much worse than a rollercoaster,” she shrugged, reaching up to rub her shoulder as soon as Will had passed by her, wincing and mouthing ‘ow.’

“He doesn’t remember his own strength sometimes,” Layla apologized, “So, what do you have first period, Ashlyn?”

“Yeah, maybe you’ve got something with us or Ethan,” Zach said.

“Uh, I doubt it, somehow,” she muttered, but relinquished her schedule for examination.

“Power control for pyrokinetics?” Layla read off.

“Oh, I had a class like that,” Magenta said, “Safely Shapeshifting. Ethan did too. Those are usually freshman classes though.”

“It is,” Ash deadpanned, “But it’s also required, and you can’t take it online. So...”

“Well, you’ll have gym with us, at least. Everyone has that at the same time,” Will said, looking back at them.

“Everyone?”

“Yep,” Will confirmed, then looked over at the school as a only slightly tinny ringing echoed across the courtyard, “Whoops. We better get going.”

Not wanting to be late on her second day, Ash couldn’t help but agree, heading toward the building with her friends and about a quarter of the student body, splitting up at the front door, “You’re going to want to move it,” Warren told her, “That class is on the second floor. Need me to show you?”

“The classrooms are numbered, I think I can manage,” Ash said, heading toward the nearest stairwell. 

It didn’t take long to realize that her footsteps weren’t alone, “I thought I said I didn’t need you to show me,” she snapped over her shoulder at Warren with a glare.

“Be a little hard to show you anything from back here,” Warren pointed out, “My first period’s this way too.”

“Oh,” Ash felt her face heat up, and she quickly whipped her head back around. She was VERY glad to finally find the classroom her first class was going to be in.

Opening the door led to quite the surprise, as Ash realized that she recognized the woman behind the desk, “Vanessa?” She blurted out, startled.

“Oh my god, Ashlyn!” The woman gasped, getting up to hug her, “Your dad finally caved, huh?”

“Yeah. You teach here?” She asked.

Surprise number two spoke up from behind her, “You two know each other?” Warren had, rather unexpectedly, followed Ash into the classroom.

“I thought you took this class already,” Ash said, frowning.

“He did. Warren’s my teaching assistant,” Vanessa explained, “And yes, we do. I used to babysit Ashlyn. God it’s so good to see you! Even if it is a year later than it should’ve been.”

Ash laughed, pushing aside the question of how Warren Peace was TA’ing in his sophomore year to enjoy seeing a familiar face in one of her teachers, “Oh, uh, I guess I should be calling you Miss Sauban here? Or Firefly?”

“It’s fine, I won’t hold it against you. I’d have probably been really confused coming into a classroom and seeing my old babysitter too. And Miss Sauban’s fine, I’m off the clock here, so to speak,” she shrugged, “Warren, go grab me my seating chart so I can put Ashlyn on it, please. Second drawer from the top.”

“Class hasn’t even started yet and you’re putting me to work,” Warren rolled his eyes, but walked over to the file cabinet behind the desk.

“Yes, because I know leaving you idle leads to things smoldering, Mr. Peace,” the teacher said wryly, taking the chart from him, “Let’s see… you mind sitting up front, Ashlyn?”

“Wherever’s fine,” Ash shrugged, and took the seat that Vanessa pointed to, tucking her bag under her legs to keep it out of the aisle. Just in time, as the rest of the class began to file in. It was… more than a little amusing to watch how many of them skittered around Warren as he grabbed papers and anything else Vanessa directed him toward to prepare for the lesson of the day.

“Alright, everyone, so hopefully you’ve all gotten over your first day jitters, because I have a curriculum to stick to,” Vanessa says, “So, let’s get started.”

-

“So how’d you wind up TA’ing your sophomore year?” Ashlyn asked as she and Warren walked out of Miss Sauban’s classroom, “Isn’t that normally an upperclassman thing?”

“I requested it,” Warren shrugged. He needed something to fill out the last empty slot in his schedule, and he wasn’t exactly interested in any of the electives that had been suggested to him. Pottery wasn’t his idea of fun. No matter how much Layla tried to get him to sign up with her and Will. His lack of interest was just too much greater than the idea of watching Will Stronghold potentially lose a battle to a lump of clay.

“...sorry for snapping at you,” Ashlyn apologized.

It took Warren a moment to realize that she meant when she’d accused him of following her, “Don’t be, it was kind of funny,” he smirked.

“If you say so,” she replied dubiously, “So… _everyone_ has gym together?”

“Yep,” Warren fought the urge to grimace. They’d gotten a break for the past week -- after the ‘shatterproof’ windows in the gym had once again proved no match for Boomer’s powers -- but today was the first day back in the gymnasium proper. And Warren had a feeling Boomer was about to make up for the week of lost time.

“Is it that bad?” Ashlyn asked, which meant he hadn’t quite managed to conceal his feelings on the matter.

“It’s… you’ll see,” Warren told her, “After homeroom, anyway.”

\--

Homeroom, at least, seemed to be a universal experience, at least as far as Ash’s experience had gone. Though she was pretty sure walking into her homeroom had been the most awkward experience so far in her two days at Sky High.

Or it was, until getting changed in the girls’ locker room. She cursed and fumbled in the bathroom stall she’d stolen in order to get changed without, well. Exposing herself. At least the uniforms seemed to have been made with a variety of bodily… configurations in mind. Which meant her top gave enough clearance to go over her wings, brace and all, and not look… too odd. Ash contemplated how much of that she could just pass off as the uniform being, well, a gym uniform as she looked at her reflection over her shoulder in the mirror before shaking her head, pulling on the jacket that came with it, and heading back into the main locker room.

“Little shy, are we?” Magenta chuckled as Ash shoved her clothes into one of the available lockers, scanning her student ID against the lock to secure it. Ash shrugged, following Magenta and Layla out to the gym proper. 

Ash had gotten a look at the gym floor on the way in, but not a good one. As she followed them around the edge of the gym and into the bleachers where the boys were sitting, she took in just _what_ she’d caught glimpses of out of her peripheral vision on the way in. The entire floor was lined around the edge with safety barriers, making a sort of arena in the center of the gym.

And ‘arena’ did seem to be the most appropriate word for it, given that inside the barriers were several smaller, pop up shields, all surrounding a giant, spiked ‘mulcher’ -- standard, if somewhat outdated, cheesy super villain fare. There was a more normal looking scoreboard hanging from the ceiling, with a blinking timer in the middle of each side. That was about where the similarities to the scoreboard in any other gym she’d seen ended, though; instead of ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ listed above the points, were ‘Heroes’ and ‘Villains.’ There were also two empty windows beneath each title where the score would usually be displayed. 

Ash was starting to get an inkling of just _how_ gym worked at Sky High, and she wasn’t sure if it was amusing or worrying. She climbed up the steps behind Layla and Magenta, sitting down in the row behind Will, Ethan, and Zach, “Ready for your first game of Save the Citizen?” Zach asked.

“So just… how does this work, exactly?” Ash asked.

“It’ll be easier just to show you. Here comes Boomer,” Magenta nodded as the Coach stepped out onto the floor. 

Magenta was right, it was easier just to watch students who had done this before to learn the game. Not that it was very difficult. Boomer would go down his list, and pick students seemingly at random, pairing up two on the heroes and villains side. The heroes saved the ‘citizen’ -- a mannequin hanging from a rope above the mulcher -- and the villains got in the way. 

“That doesn’t seem too hard,” Ash commented after another round had gone by -- technically a draw, as the heroes saved their mannequin, but not before it got so close to the mulcher that it had lost a limb. Boomer dismissed both teams back into the stands, rigging up another mannequin in its place, then looking around the gym at the students, his eyes landing on the section that their group rested in.

“Have fun boys,” Magenta patted Will’s shoulder.

“Stronghold!” Boomer shouted, and Will stood with a roll of his shoulders. Warren, settled a few seats away from the group, started to stand as well, but nearly lost his footing in surprise as the next name out of his mouth wasn’t his own, but, “Hale!”

Ash started, “Wait, what.”

There were murmurs around the entire gym; Ash wasn’t sure what they were more surprised about; Boomer breaking up what she knew to be his ‘dream team,’ or that it was to pop in the new girl.

Her nerves must have shown as they were getting ready, because Will put a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, relax. I’ll tell you what their powers are, we’ve got this,” he said, helping her clip on the protective gear that she was fumbling with.

That relaxed her slightly; Will had done this dozens of times before, and knew most of the other students’ powers already, “Yeah, alright,” she said, feeling better about the whole thing -- at least until they heard Boomer call for the Villains for this round.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Will said as ‘Peace’ and ‘Cole’ came up on the board opposite their names. 

“So… Warren and…”

“Celia Cole. Cryokinetic.”

Ash exhaled, “Ice? I can handle that.”

“She’s also Warren’s ex.”

“What?”

Will shook his head as Warren and slim blonde walked down into the arena; from across the floor, it didn’t LOOK like there was any bad blood there, the way Warren was smirking slightly and Celia had a ‘what are you going to do’ look on her face as she shrugged at him, “Tell you about it later. Warren can’t hurt me, but I’ll need you to keep Celia off of me. She has a bad habit of freezing people.”

“Right. Keep Freeze Girl away,” Ash said, and Will snorted slightly. She supposed she’d have to ask him about THAT later too.

Right now, it was time to save a citizen.

Will sobered up as Boomer blew the whistle, and the mechanical whirring of the grinder started up again. Ash knew from past matches that meant the timer had started, and they needed to try to get moving to save their mannequin-citizen before it was mulched. 

Though they didn’t get moving quite fast enough, apparently -- heat blew by Ash’s face as a fireball slammed into Will’s chestplate with enough force to send him flying back off his feet. The wave of ice shards coming behind it only melted by sheer luck and the fact that they had been halfway there from following so close to the tail end of Warren’s fireblast. 

“Will?!” “I’m fine - move!” He yelled, and Ash barely dodged out of the way in time to avoid having her feet frozen to the floor. She was still scrambling up when she saw the start of another fireball in Warren’s hands, that quickly flickered out as Will leapt up and tackled him down. Ash could feel the heat as Warren gathered it, even from several feet away, fire erupting from his body to knock Will off of him. He picked himself up quickly, and though Ash couldn’t see either of them -- Celia had turned her attention to the other girl -- she could _hear_ them just fine.

“This seems familiar.”

“Really? Can’t imagine why,” Will quipped back, sounding FAR too chipper about this whole thing.

Over the clash of elements flying between them, Celia and Ash met eyes and Ash saw her own feelings on the matter echoed on Celia’s face: _boys_. At least until Celia tucked and rolled away from the stream of fire Ash had been combating her with, and took aim at Will’s unprotected back while he was distracted by Warren.

“Will! Pay attention!” Ash yelled as she threw a fireball at the blast of ice Celia had redirected at Will’s unprotected back, giving him a less dangerous but probably not much more welcome splash of flash-melt across his back. 

“Right, sorry!” Will yelled back, dodging out of the way of Warren’s fireballs so narrowly that his gear was steaming. Ash could see him warming up another, and decided to fight fire with fire as Will tried to get past Celia to save their citizen. Blue fire raced down her arm into her hand, and Ash hurled a blast of her own to intercept Warren’s.

The resulting explosion was NOT what she had expected -- the shockwave was enough to tumble all four players off their feet, and Ash heard Boomer yelp in surprise as his chair wobbled.

“The hell was that…?” She muttered to herself as she started to push herself up. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see Warren looming over her, “You recover quick.”

“Thanks, I think?” He said wryly.

She glanced past him, seeing that apparently, so did Celia, as she was working on freezing Will to the floor, “You’re gonna need to,” Ash told him, pressing her hands firmly against the floor. Blue flames raced through the seams of the wood from beneath her fingers, exploding out beneath Warren’s feet and sending him flying. She hadn’t QUITE managed to send him toppling into Celia, but it was enough to send the cyrokinetic stumbling off balance, and Ash threw another blast between her and Will to finish taking her down, “Will, citizen!”

Will looked up at the clock and gritted his teeth. The sound of the thick ice cracking echoed through the gym as it shattered, and Will launched himself off the floor into the air toward the mannequin. 

Several things happened in the space of a heartbeat:

Warren had gotten back onto his feet in time to see Will launch off the ground, and threw a final fireball at his usual partner. The blast hit true, propelling Will forward, into the citizen and ripping its tether, but sending him spiralling out of control toward the ground -- specifically, the part already occupied by Ash. Having only just gotten back to her feet, she didn’t have time to do much more than brace herself before Will slammed into her, sending them both skidding backwards and sandwiching Ash between the wooden panelling and Will. 

The sound of wrenching metal didn’t reach the rest of the gym over the sound of the impact, but Ash certainly _felt_ it as one of the metal bars wrapped around her chest to pin down her wings bent _in_. She collapsed to the floor next to Will as pain surged through her chest, and she gasped out what little air she had left in pain as she tried to breathe in and it only intensified. 

“Heroes win!” Boomer’s voice echoed through the gym, along with the sounds of applause and cheering. It all sounded far away to Ash, her vision swimming as every attempt to get air met with another stab of pain. 

“Yes! Hear that, Ash? We won!” Will crowed next to her, “Ash?” He pulled her over and through the haze, Ash could see his eyes widen as he took in the sight and sound of her inability to get air, “Coach Boomer!”

Over the ringing in her ears, Ash thought that the noise of the gym had died, maybe. She gasped as deeply as she could manage a Will ripped the protective gear off her chest and the pressure digging deeply into her diaphragm lessened somewhat. It meant she could let out a weak cry of pain when she was turned onto her back by the Coach. He grimaced, then looked up at Will, “Stronghold, get her to Spex.”

Will nodded, “Yeah, right,” he said, “C’mon Ashlyn, I got you, easy,” Will said, “Can you walk?”

Ash nodded, taking the hand he offered her to pull her to her feet, and letting Will loop her arm around his shoulders, and his around her waist, helping her stagger out of the gym. 

They got about two hallways away, with Ash having to frequently stop Will to catch her breath or lean on him entirely as her head spun before she finally gave in, “Will. Wait,” she said, wincing with both words.

“What? Ashlyn, we’ve really gotta get you to the nurse --”

“Just. Trust me?” She wheezed.

Will looked hesitant, but nodded, “What do you need me to do?” 

“Help me get this off,” she pulled up her gym top, and saw Will’s go wide as he saw what ‘this’ was. 

“What -- right, okay, questions later, uh. Hang on,” he said, helping her shrug off her jacket, then shuck the tank top, “Whoa…”

“ _Will_ ,” Ash prodded, voice urgent.

“Right, sorry, uh, how do I -- oh! Straps, okay,” Will said. 

The result was nearly instant; the moment the straps were undone, the harness fell to the ground, and Ash sucked in lungfuls of air, catching herself on the wall as she got dizzy for too _much_ oxygen. When her equilibrium returned, she looked over at Will, who was… fairly blatantly staring at the large, feathered wings that had appeared from - to him - seemingly nowhere, “Sooo. Uh.” 

Ash sighed, “Can we walk and talk?” she asked, bending down to pick up the harness.

“You have wings,” Will said, jogging to catch up as Ash started walking again without him.

“Very observant, Will, you are in possession of a pair of functioning eyes,” Ash rolled hers at him. 

Will gave her a dry look, “Yeah, and you’re hiding your powers. Why?”

“Because they’re not a power,” Ash told him, wings tucking as tightly as she could fold them against her back. 

“What do you mean they aren’t a power, your dad’s the Phoenix, he has wings --”

Ash stopped walking abruptly, turning toward Will, “My _power_ is pyrokinesis. Like my dad. _These_ ,” she fluffed the feathers of her extra limbs, “Are… an old family shame.”

“I… don’t understand,” Will looked confused.

“...my grandfather was part of an experiment in World War two,” Ash finally said, “To manufacture heroes.”

“Oh,” Will said, then, “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah. So I’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself.”

“Yeah, no -- I mean, yeah, I will,” Will stumbled over his words, “My lips are sealed.”

Ash relaxed, minutely, “Thanks. Do you mind, uh…” She held the brace, bent bar and all, out to him. It took Will a good twenty seconds of looking between it and her face before the lightbulb dinged on, and he took the brace, carefully bending the metal bar back into place, “Thanks,” she said, taking it and slipping it back on.

“...you know, you could probably just… not wear it,” Will said, awkwardly, as he watched her pin her wings back into place, “No one’s gonna care about where your wings came from.”

“You mean like how no one cares who Warren’s dad is?” Ash looked up at Will, who grimaced and refused to meet her eyes, “I see the way kids avoid him. Everyone cares, Will,” She told him, trying to ignore how much he sounded like Kari just then as she tightened the last strap, and grabbed the gym tank top, “I’ve got enough on my plate without adding more drama and gossip to the pile.”

“I… right,” he rubbed his arm awkwardly, “So… you still going to the nurse?”

“Probably should, just so Boomer doesn’t check later and wonder why I didn’t,” Ash answered after a moment of hesitant contemplation. She was sure the school nurse already had her ‘quirks’ on file, just in case something like this DID happen, but that didn’t make her any more thrilled about it, “I can get there myself, though, now that I can breathe again.”

Will hesitated, “Boomer’ll ask questions if I go back without you,” he reminded her.

Ash sighed, “You just don’t want to go back to gym,” she accused, half-heartedly.

“ _And_ you don’t know where the Nurse’s Office is,” Will added, grinning.

“Ugh, alright, alright, you win, let’s just go, please?” 

As it happened, Nurse Spex _was_ provided with a full copy of Ash’s medical records, and a quick once over revealed that, thankfully, none of the delicate bones that provided the structure of her wings had been damaged in the hit. Ashlyn pointedly ignored the look the nurse gave the brace, and the quiet ‘tsk’ under her breath as she informed her to take it easy, as she examined the nasty bruises already forming across her upper body. Ashlyn could see Spex put a note into her computer to excuse her from gym for the next week -- at least.

Fine by her. 

The walk back to the gymnasium with Will was silent and awkward, and Ashlyn was happy to duck back into the girls’ locker room to get changed back into her normal clothes. 

Or she would have, if she could have gotten more than a foot into the room before she was nearly knocked off her feet as Layla pulled her into a death grip of a hug.

“Layla, ow!” She yelped, only half exaggerating as the general area of her torso throbbed.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Layla gasped, stepping back and releasing her, “Are you okay?”

Ashlyn rubbed her sides, vaguely wondering if Will was the only one in that relationship with super strength, “It’s fine, nothing’s broken just… tender.”

“Good to hear,” Magenta said, sitting on the bench nearby and pulling her boots back on, “Boomer benched Warren after that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that bad, and he’s _taken_ a hit from Will before.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” Ashlyn said, pulling her clothes out of her locker, and heading to the bathroom. She could hear Magenta and Layla debating if it counted as taking a hit from Will when he was used as a projectile, and not actually HITTING her, which made her laugh.

“Okay, but if we’re defining it as getting hit _by_ Will --”

“Do I even want to know why I’m being talked about?” Will asked, as the debate continued all the way out of the locker room.

“They’re arguing if I get to join the exclusive club of getting hit by Will Stronghold, or if you just counted as a blunt force object,” Ashlyn informed him wryly, hands shoved in her jacket pockets. She looked over as the other boys joined them from the boys’ locker room across the way.

“Yo, you okay, Ash?” Zach asked, “We all thought you’d be in tractio -- ow!”

“Smooth, Zach,” Magenta said, removing her boot from where she’d brought the heel down on his foot to shut him up.

“I’m fine,” Ashlyn told them, eyes falling on Warren, “Seriously. Nurse Spex said I’d have some fun bruises, but I’m good. Ask Will, he was there.”

Will nodded, “Yep. Nothing busted. Except us, if we’re late for our next class. Shall we?” He asked, gesturing toward the exit, which the rest of the student body had already poured out of. 

The group moved toward the exit, and Ashlyn wasn’t surprised when she found herself walking beside Warren, “Don’t,” she cut him off before he could speak.

“Don’t what?” He asked, startled.

“Start apologizing. I mean it, I’m fine, shit happens,” Ashlyn waved a hand, “Just, maybe next time aim the flying brick _away_ from me, huh?”

Warren snickered, which was, frankly, a more palatable look on his face than _guilt_ , “Deal.”

“Hey! That implies there’s going to be a next time!” Will protested as the rest of the gang burst out laughing.


End file.
